A Quick Word With Roddy Radiation
A Quick Word With Roddy Radiation
Roddy Radiation, founding member and lead guitarist of the legendary British 2 tone ska band The Specials, is embarking on his first solo tour through the Eastern United States, April 23 through May 16. Backing him will be the Baltimore/DC ska/rocksteady crew The Scotch Bonnets.
No stranger to rockabilly, Roddy having fronted several acts which melded reverbed guitars with ska overtones, is on tour and will be in Orlando, on Wednesday, May 13th, 2015, showing why he’s been a musical mainstay for four decades. Roddy, urm, Mr. Radiation was good enough to stop by for a quick word:
Indie Music: Some Rockabilly fans are notorious purists. Do you ever catch grief for cross pollinating styles?
Roddy Radiation: I played a Rock-a-billy show in Nottingham U.K. with my band the Skabilly Rebels recently and the Rock-a-billies, Mods, punks and Skins all danced together with no problems.
But as you say the purest Teddy Boy Rockers aren’t always convinced, even tho the music has the same roots
as the Jamaicans were huge Fats Domino and RnB fans who could pick up Southern U.S. radio in Jamaica
Also Country and Western is popular there too, with Reggae Artests covering Country songs since the early 1960,s – i.e. Toots n the Maytals version of John Denvers “Country Road”
A lot of Rock-a-billy bands here in the U.K. are starting to use Jamaican off beat guitars recently,
so I rest my case!
IM: How did you end up working with The Scotch Bonnets?
RR: My good friend Kristin Forbes the guitarist from the Scotch Bonnets and I discussed working together when she came to see the Specials at South by South West – Austin Texas a couple of year ago
IM: What inspires your songwriting?
RR: All sorts, some Polictics some Broken love affairs and my beliefs in general
IM: What’s the most unexpected things we’d find if we snuck a look at your personal music collection?
RR: Flamenco, a lot of early Black Blues Artests, Punk Rock , Sun records,
Hank Williams etc etc etc
IM: Question you wished I’d asked?
RR: How did I get the name Radiation? lol
My younger brother called my that when I was going through my Ziggy Stardust phase in the early 1970,s
Cheers!
Roddy “Radiation” Byers 15/04/2015
http://www.roddyradiation.com/
